34028 research outputs found
Sort by
The Ambivalence of Judicial Interventions at the International Criminal Court
No full textInternational Criminal Court (ICC) presents a unique blend of adversarial and inquisitorial legal traditions. By drawing on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, this chapter explores the impact of ICC’s procedural blending on judicial interventions during witness examination. The common understanding is that ICC relies on the adversarial, party-led mode of presenting evidence – featuring examination-in-chief and cross-examination – but without the associated rules of evidence. Our study expands on this by demonstrating that the latitude provided by the ICC’s legal framework for judges to monitor and intervene in witness examination creates a field of tension for them, as they often oscillate between the roles of truth-finder and arbiter, to the point where the two seem to merge. By shedding light on the interactional accomplishment of these judicial interventions, our analysis illustrates how the ICC’s normative and procedural provisions are fleshed out in action, revealing the emerging tensions associated with judges’ dual role in questioning witnesses.</p
Igniting HR effectiveness and explorative and exploitative learning: role of work-related generative AI use and market turbulence
No full textThis research investigates the impact of work-related generative AI use (WRGAIU) on human resource (HR) effectiveness and learning mechanisms within organisations. Recognising the increasing integration of generative AI in business practices, the study aims to address the lack of empirical evidence regarding its influence on HR functions and employee learning.The core objectives of the research include assessing how WRGAIU directly affects HR effectiveness, as well as supporting explorative and exploitative learning. Additionally, it explores whether these learning mechanisms mediate the relationship between WRGAIU and HR effectiveness. Another significant aspect is the examination of the moderating role of market turbulence on these direct and indirect relationships, providing insights into how generative AI can enhance HR outcomes in dynamic market environments.To conduct the study, survey data were collected from 314 HR employees in British private companies using the online platform Prolific Academic. The data analysis was performed using Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).The findings indicate that WRGAIU has a direct positive influence on HR effectiveness and both types of learning (explorative and exploitative). However, the study found that the learning mechanisms do not mediate the relationship between WRGAIU and HR effectiveness. Interestingly, when employees utilise generative AI for work-related purposes, the effects of market turbulence were shown to be insignificant.From a practical standpoint, the research highlights the potential of generative AI to enhance HR effectiveness and facilitate learning among HR professionals, irrespective of market fluctuations. The results suggest that organisations should embrace and develop work-related generative AI to achieve various outcomes while safeguarding against external market challenges, such as turbulence.</p
Adaptive royalty formulations for critical minerals amid fiscal volatility and geopolitical uncertainty
No full textThis research develops and evaluates an Adaptive Royalty Architecture (ARA) designed for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements. The study addresses a key policy challenge: how to design mineral royalty regimes that capture economic rent during price upswings while avoiding excessive financial pressure on projects during downturns. Existing fiscal instruments, including ad valorem royalties and profit-based taxes, each have advantages and limitations in balancing revenue stability, administrative feasibility, and responsiveness to market conditions. The proposed ARA integrates four structured components: a statutory ad valorem floor to ensure baseline revenue, a price- or margin-linked escalator to enhance progressivity, a downside price-variance buffer to reduce project stress during adverse market conditions, and a rules-based community dividend to support predictable sub-national benefit sharing. Using a stylised Monte Carlo stress-testing framework, the research compares the performance of the ARA against selected benchmark royalty regimes across representative critical mineral project scenarios over a 15-year horizon.The results indicate that the proposed architecture can improve downside resilience while maintaining participation in favourable price environments, although outcomes remain sensitive to calibration parameters, administrative capacity, and institutional implementation conditions. The research contributes to the literature by providing a transparent and adaptable framework for designing mineral fiscal regimes that integrate stabilisation, progressivity, and local value sharing within a single structured policy architecture.</p
Goal Setting in Exercise and Physical Activity: An Expert Statement on Behalf of Exercise and Sports Science Australia
No full textAn Expert Statement on Behalf of Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA).Goal setting is one of the most commonly used strategies for increasing exercise and physical activity, and is a core aspect of the scope of practice for many exercise and health practitioners. Despite its widespread use, recent research has highlighted a need to reconsider traditional practice and re-evaluate the theoretical and empirical basis of goal setting in exercise and physical activity promotion. The issues identified in traditional approaches to goal setting in exercise and physical activity include oversimplification, misapplication of theory and over-reliance on the SMART acronym (e.g., Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound goals) rather than more rigorous evidence-based approaches. Therefore, this expert statement, on behalf of Exercise and Sports Science Australia, reviews theory and empirical evidence on goal setting, and provides practical recommendations for exercise and health practitioners when supporting clients to set goals. To move beyond the issues highlighted in traditional approaches to goal setting, it is necessary to go ‘back to basics’ and consider the foundations of goal setting. In turn, we outline: the goal-setting process; the structure of goals; moderating factors that determine whether/when certain types of goal should be set; and outcomes of goals, including risks and pitfalls. We provide corresponding practical recommendations to assist exercise and health practitioners in setting goals with clients. This expert statement seeks to help practitioners avoid the issues highlighted in traditional approaches to goal setting in exercise and physical activity, and set more suitable and evidence-based goals with clients instead.</p
Lichen symbiotic stress as a precursor to biodiversity loss – Rapid assessment using Evernia prunastri as a bioindicator for nitrogen pollution
No full textExcess reactive nitrogen emitted from farming and fossil fuels is a global problem that causes biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. This study assessed how atmospheric ammonia (NH₃) exposure at ecologically realistic concentrations affects the physiological integrity, acclimation, and survival of the bioindicator lichen E. prunastri. The results show that E. prunastri accumulates nitrogen until tissue saturation at ~1.3% N with long-term NH3 concentrations of ≥ 2 μg m⁻³. Beyond this, fungal cell membrane damage increases, growth declines, and mortality occurs. Acclimation through chlorophyll upregulation is possible at moderate NH₃ levels but cannot offset long-term species decline. These findings show how lichens provide early warnings of stress, due to NH₃ pollution, below community-level loss thresholds, offering rapid, field-validated bioindicators for biodiversity monitoring, at a critical moment considering that NH₃ emissions remain persistently high globally despite reductions in oxidised nitrogen emissions.</p
What influences rates of kidney donation among ethnic minority populations?
No full textThis paper presents a critical appraisal of existing literature exploring factors influencing kidney donation among ethnic minority populations. Despite longstanding recognition of the disproportionately low donation rates within these communities, the underlying causes are complex and multifaceted. Using the Critical Appraisal Programme (CASP, 2024a; CASP, 2024b) framework, three studies were systematically evaluated for methodological rigour, credibility, and relevance. The appraisal identified key themes contributing to reduced donation rates, including socioeconomic barriers, religious and cultural beliefs, and medical mistrust. This review prioritises these intersecting barriers as central issues and highlights key methodological weaknesses in existing studies. Whilst the selected studies offer valuable insights, limitations in sample size, study design, and recruitment strategies effect the generalisability and practical application of their findings. This appraisal highlights the importance of culturally sensitive research approaches and highlights the need for future studies to address intersecting influences on donation attitudes within ethnic minority populations to inform more inclusive and effective health interventions.</p
Measuring Sexual Preference With Mouse Tracking and Machine Learning
No full textVarious methods have been proposed to measure a person’s sexual preference, but most of these methods have not been evaluated on a yet unseen sample of participants. We examine here the importance of using an unseen sample with the recently introduced mouse tracking method, which has been previously shown to produce reliable group differences in trajectories. To this end, we applied machine learning on data from a mouse tracking task with 52 self-declared heterosexual male and female participants, who either responded according to their sexual preference or were asked to "fake" their response and always provide the opposite response from their preference. While performance was high when the model was applied to the same data it was trained on (AUC = 0.91), substantially lower classification performance was found on unseen data (AUC = 0.69). Our results show that statistically reliable group differences do not automatically lead to reliable predictions in unseen data. Before a method can be used in clinical practice, it should therefore first be tested on unseen data.</p
Optimal Experience in Exercise: A Flow Perspective
No full textWithin the field of optimal experiences, flow is one of the most studied psychological states. Since first being coined as a term in 1975 by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, a steady stream of literature on flow has developed across many contexts. The first study on flow in exercise was published in the 1990s (Grove & Lewis, 1996) and since then, this evidence base has continued to develop. In recent reviews of research on flow in exercising populations, researchers have highlighted a range of conceptual, methodological, and practical issues with studies conducted in this field. Most research conducted to date on flow in exercise has adopted the nine?-dimensions framework of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002), but a small number of recent qualitative studies offer an alternative perspective on the experience of flow in exercise. Findings from these studies have implications for psychometric tools developed to assess flow based on the nine dimensions. In addition, while recent work has begun to address some issues with existing flow intervention designs, a range of challenges remain, highlighting the need for the ongoing development of robust intervention studies in the future. Despite critiques of the literature, recent findings offer avenues for research that could enhance understanding of how flow states can be facilitated in exercise. Based on the available evidence, suggested ways for exercisers and exercise psychologists, professionals, and organisations to promote flow include: having intrinsic, experiential motives for engaging in exercise activities; using non-specific goals and adopting a flexible approach to goal setting; not feeling under pressure or having (lofty) expectations during activities; engaging in exercise in a way that is optimally challenging; and avoiding cognitive control through distraction. Further high-quality studies on flow in exercise can enhance understanding in this area and help researchers to move closer towards fulfilling the suggested promise of flow states for exercisers.</p
Exploring Cat–Human Interaction as a Psychosocial Resource in Autism and ADHD: Risks, Engagement, and Well-Being
No full textAnimals may offer vital psychosocial support, particularly for neurodiverse individuals. However, evidence surrounding the effects of pet ownership remains equivocal, especially in relation to cat–human dynamics. This study explored the relationship between cat–human-related factors (CHRFs) and psychological well-being in a sample of 127 adults, including individuals formally diagnosed with autism (30), ADHD (15), and/or co-occurring autism and ADHD (AuADHD; 22). Participants completed measures assessing neurodiverse traits, CHRF engagement, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Spearman’s correlations analysed the relationships between CHRFs, neurodiverse traits, and well-being. Kruskal–Wallis tests established group differences in well-being and engagement in CHRFs between individuals with and without neurodevelopmental differences. The findings confirmed that autistic and ADHD traits were positively associated with greater anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Autistic individuals reported significantly elevated anxiety and depression; co-occurring diagnoses (AuADHD) were associated with heightened anxiety. Neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals demonstrated similar patterns of CHRF engagement. Several CHRFs, such as anxious cat behaviour, inability to provide for the cat, poor cat health, and close proximity, were linked to negative well-being outcomes. These findings highlight the nuanced, bi-directional nature of cat–human interactions, underscoring the importance of mitigating negative relational factors to support mental health in neurodiverse populations.</p
Representing the People’s Republic: the Chinese Pavilion at the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, 1982
No full textThe Knoxville International Energy Exposition, held in 1982, was the first world’s fair in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) participated. Shortly after the rapprochement between the PRC and the United States, the erection of the Chinese Pavilion in Knoxville overlapped a ‘honeymoon’ period of the two nations, marked by growing political and architectural exchange after decades of isolation. This article argues that the Chinese Pavilion at the Knoxville fair materialises China’s enthusiastic yet discreet interaction with the US during moments of diplomatic sensitivity, economic uncertainty, and shifting ideological positions in the 1970s and 1980s. Constructed at the height of the Cold War, the pavilion symbolised the PRC’s diplomatic success in rebuilding its relations with the Western Bloc, while the realisation of the pavilion was challenged by sensitive political issues, China’s limited budget, and a lack of exhibits. Under China’s new Reform and Opening-Up policy, the building also marked a turning point in pavilion design for the country in international events, with a significant shift of focus from overt ideological promotion to a self-orientalised cultural display through the pavilion’s design process. It illuminates a key moment in the architectural history of modern China when the nation’s growing self-awareness of its global image prompted its officials, exhibition planners, and architects to reconsider the relationship between pavilion design and the architectural profession.</p